BMI Bank, the Bahrain-based associate of bank muscat, reported a net profit of US$1.4mn for the first half year ended June 30, 2013, an increase of 88 per cent from US$700,000 posted over the corresponding period in 2012.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, BMI Bank said growth in profit was mainly due to improved recoveries against impaired loans along with a one-off exceptional income.

bank muscat has a 49 per cent stake in BMI Bank.

BMI Bank’s total income for the first half year of 2013 was US$28.6mn as compared with US$28.3mn reported during the corresponding period in 2012, primarily driven by an eight per cent increase in net interest income – which grew from US$20mn in the first half of 2012 to US$22.1mn in the same period this year.

The Bahraini bank’s total assets as well as total loans and advances at the end of first half stood at US$2bn and US$1.3bn, respectively, while customer deposits grew at an annualised growth rate of 9.2 per cent to US$1.5bn as on June 30, 2013, compared to a year ago.

Jamal al Hazeem, CEO of BMI Bank, said, “Our net profit of US$1.4mn, achieved against the backdrop of a challenging environment, yet again demonstrates the effectiveness of our strategy which drives the business lines and service channels at our bank.”

Earlier in May, BMI Bank had announced that it had agreed in principle in favour of a merger with Al Salam Bank, an Islamic bank incorporated in Bahrain.

Currently, BMI Bank has a total of 30 ATMs across Bahrain along with its existing ten retail branches.